Saturday, New York City was bustling with activity but not all parts of the large metropolis was brimming with people.
In a secluded street, an upper class area where the shops all sported luxurious prices and where public transport was quite far. The only way to reach this place was to take a cab or to drive your own vehicle.
Due to this, the foot traffic was relatively low and hawkers were nonexistent. The loud sounds of people working and making a living did not exist in this area, instead a relative calm was present as people dressed in expensive clothes, carrying branded bags and driving glossy cars released within the last two years populated the area.
Moreover, unlike the busy streets of New York that had a weird putrid smell that was a mix of colognes, perfumes and the stench of trash, the air in this area was relatively clean. It was not as pleasant as the suburbs and much worse than the open fields, but it was an escape from the pollution that constantly plagued the city.
Here, in a small cafe, a blonde teen wearing designer clothes stared at the various pedestrians walking along the streets.
They all had the same air about them, mostly people who were "relaxing".
The time for them to walk has come, it is only later in the afternoon or earlier in the morning would one see the hurried steps of workers heading for their jobs, luxury brand cars driving to offices and more.
Such a sight was imprinted in the eyes of the young blonde, a teen aged 16, almost of legal age, she goes by the name of Susan Storm.
Despite her current life, she was actually quite close to living a despondent one where she had to struggle to just eat a single meal.
Such a life, it flashed before her eyes when her mother had died.
Susan did not really remember much of what happened then but her father had taken his own life leaving her and her brother to fend for themselves.
At that time, Susan was barely ten and would have fallen in the clutches of the state adoption agency if her aunt had not come to their aid. Taking her and her brother in, their aunt had given them a rather plentiful life.
Her parents' assets, the siblings' inheritance, were properly taken care of, placed in a trust accessible to the two when they came of age. Meanwhile, their aunt, a relatively affluent widow, with no child of her own, had taken the siblings in as her own.
Their aunt was an investor and she owned quite a sizable amount of properties in New York, she also had quite the knowledge in trading stocks.
Being a genius of her own, Susan had learned from her adoptive mother, using her share of the inheritance, Susan was able to earn a living for herself despite still being underage. Though most of the money she earned was done through a custodial account under her aunt's name, as training for the young Susan, their aunt had left the account to her.
Through this, Susan was able to accumulate experience in trading and now she was already capable of living on her own.
In fact, Johnny, Susan's little brother had asked Susan to handle his share as well, a task she was fully willing to do.
Because of this, the two siblings were able to live in relative luxury, their aunt made her own money and still gave them living expenses, fed them, clothed them and sheltered them.
With that kind of state, the two siblings ended up having more money than they could spend- at least, for a high schooler's standards.
Moreover, their money did not come from a parent's wallet or anything. It was all earned by them- well by Susan at least.
With such a life, others would have been satisfied already, but Susan wasn't.
She felt as if there was something that she was lacking.
Searching for it, Susan spent many weekends wandering about the City. Going to various places and just- wasting time.
Watching the people come and go, a privilege she had earned.
Today was like many of those days, just another day spent relaxing and waiting for something to happen, for something to "enlighten" her, to give her that push she needs.
Whether it was her early maturity and quick access to financial security, Susan was facing what others would call, "a midlife crisis" at the tender age of 16.
But she was not yet aware that her wanderings would be the cause for her to fall under the gaze of a being that many would have not wished to even hear of.
Susan, tired of sitting at the cafe paid her bill and left, Johnny was still busy with his own matters and Susan did not really like driving. Moreover the tests required to get a junior driver's permit were quite harsh.
Fortunately for her, Johnny was quite an enthusiast in cars, he had recently turned 16 just a few months younger than her. Yet, upon turning 16, unlike Susan, Johnny was quick to get his learner's permit and apply for a junior driver's license. (A/N: I know their age gap should be higher but for this FanFic I made them really close in age, maybe I should put the AU tag…)
With her little brother getting the license to drive from 9am to 5pm, Susan was able to go to various locations normally inaccessible to her, a person who disliked driving.
Unfortunately, due to this, she was also heavily reliant on her dear little brother to take her to various places and fetch her.
After all, she did not always go to places that would excite Johnny, of course, it would be even more impossible for her to bring Johnny with her to purchase underwear and swimsuits. They weren't raised in Alabama after all.
That said, Susan did not waste her time waiting for Johnny. Since she went around the city in order to find inspiration, she decided to walk around the quite upscale street. Look around and see anything that interest her.
Around her were various shops, their prices would make many flinch. But her expression remained calm and inquisitive.
Alone, Susan had been approached by various men, but most of them were quickly driven away by the number, "16". Those that were more persistent were made to learn that Susan was not some naive girl who believed in the goodness of people's hearts.
Many turned away from a potential lawsuit, others were pushed away by fear.
Aside from the various men that tried to pick her up, Susan did not see anything that caught her interest.
Time quietly passed and soon, Johnny had texted her that he was on his way to pick her up.
At that time, when Susan was just about to give up for the day she felt a shiver run down her spine. Then a quite almost indiscernible cry reached her ears-
"he…lp-...me"
The hoarse voice made it hard to discern whether it came from a man or a woman but Susan could tell that it was weak and-
By instinct, she turned her head towards a certain direction, an alleyway.
In this bright and quiet business street was a dark alley. Unseen by many, it looked as if it did not belong, an anomaly in this place that should have been clean of such filth.
While Susan was frozen at the odd sight, she spotted something move within the alley, a ray of light shone slightly illuminating the area and what she saw made her blood turn cold.
A red haired maid, dressed in a manner reminiscent of street walkers, her eyes glowed with a purple light as her lips formed a rather insidious smile.
Her appearance was not what caused Susan to freeze though, instead, it was the body below her.
Yes, a body.
It was a mangled corpse, with long hair, Susan could not even discern whether it belonged to a man or a woman.
The body was covered in a black cloth as the woman kicked the body as if trying to find out of it was still alive.
Although the distance between her and the alley was quite far, the image she saw was VERY clear. Though for some reason she was unable to hear a thing.
Despite being quite a distance away, Susan believed that she should have heard the woman's words and the sound of her actions but-
"Wha-"
She let out an unintentionally noise, not because of the woman's actions but because a pedestrian had casually walked past the alley but-
No reaction at all-
Then a couple walked by again and still… nothing-
At this moment, Susan felt that something was amiss, despite her mind telling her to run, she still mustered up her courage to pull out her phone. She wanted to record the scene-
Opening her camera, she quickly changed from photo to video as she clicked record-
Then, not long after she started to record the scene, the red haired woman seemed to have noticed her.
The woman, with her purple eyes turned towards Susan, as she did, the poor teen was made to realize the gravity of her situation.
The read haired maid looked normal, her side profile looked alright, at least, besides her actions. But when she turned towards her, Susan quickly saw an image that would haunt her for a long time.
Hidden away from her was the maid's hand, covered in crimson liquid, her hand was holding an object.
A fleshy mass that was dripping with-
Blood-
No…
It was a heart-
"A beating heart…"
The maid turning towards her, holding a still beating heart that pumped out blood, with a smile on her face as her eyes glowed with a purple light-
Susan was not some hero, she was not a soldier trained to face brutality.
She was nothing more than a simple teenager searching for a purpose and now-
Susan had become a "witness"
'Maybe those pedestrians saw the heart quickly and pretended to not know anything-'
'Yeah! There's no way anyone would not notice that!'
'But why do it in broad daylight?'
'Why here?'
Various thoughts swirled in Susan's young mind and soon, based on her current knowledge and experience, coupled with the copious amounts of fiction she had watched and read. An idea had formed in her mind-
'Is this a game of the rich and powerful?!'
'Oh no!'
'I have to run!'
Without a second thought, Susan quickly dashed away, heading for the spot where Johnny would pick her up. Constantly looking back making sure that the maid was not following her, Susan dashed with all her might towards her brother.
Watching the departing Susan, Satura was about to make a move when a voice was transmitted to her mind-
'Do not pursue her, she is an observation target'
Upon hearing those words, Satura turned away from the departing girl as she dropped a small spark on the body covered in black cloth. As the spark dropped on the body it was immediately engulfed in blue flames. Within the span of a few seconds, what used to be a body had now turned to pure white ash.
Confirming that the body had been taken care of, Satura turned towards the rooftop of an adjacent building, she bowed her head lightly before vanishing from the alley.
At the place Satura had bowed towards, a man with crimson eyes whispered-
'Pass the message to black, Susan Storm shows potential for both magecraft and psychic abilities, magic and its involvement has yet to be confirmed'
After he said those words, the man's image started to ripple before vanishing from the spot.
Within one of the most expensive condo units in New York, at the highest floor, within one of the rooms, James woke up.
Raising his bare upper body, his actions caused the sheets to move revealing a blonde beauty lying next to him.
She was in deep slumber, her skin covered in various marks but a pleasant smile was plastered on her face. Whether it was from the pleasant dream she was having or the memory of last night's feast, only she would know-
'I could read her mind but what's the fun in that?'
James thought as he admired his handiwork, but upon inspecting her body and seeing the face that was modeled to carry extreme pride- a certain emotion lit up in James heart. Memories of last nights feast appeared in his mind as the flames of desire burned once more.
His hands had long moved to caress the blonde beside him, his actions caused her to moan.
This reaction almost made James explode alas-
"My Lord, I'm sorry to disturb you but a matter of utmost importance has arose:
Hearing the familiar voice and the sensing the familiar aura, the fire in James heart was subdued and his mood made a turn for the worst as he turned to the butler-
"Black, what important matter requires me to be disturbed in the early morning of a weekend?"
Unaffected, Black remained impassive as he responded-
"Correction, it's already long past noon My Lord, closer to evening in fact, moreover, you've been enjoying your festivities till early morning. Please understand that even a homunculus, especially one of your making would have limits"
"..."
"Also, this matter involves a human you made us take particular note of"
"Oh?"
Hearing the explanation of Black, James was initially apathetic but when he started to talk about a human to "take note of", James was immediately interested.
"Is it Cindy Moon?"
He thought of the Korean - American teen who had a "deep fate", James' heart stirred. The changes that had occurred with the Punisher's matter were still fresh in his mind. He really wanted to see what actions related to individuals with deeper fates would lead to.
"Sir, Cindy Moon had already accepted the internship, the contract for her internship up to her becoming an official employee at the Department of Summoning had already been set. On paper, she would be interning and ultimately hired by Tower Industries Medical Division."
Black then turned to the nearby workbench with piles upon piles of gems and stacks of documents needing signing.
"..."
James turned away from his butler, standing up and wearing a robe, he avoided staring into his butlers eyes as he prepared coffee at a nearby counter-
"My Lord, I believe having your desk, bed and counter all in the same room does not match your status"
Black commented, his gaze turning towards the blonde woman on the bed as he glared at her and said.
"Hilda, your task is complete, please clean up the room, also rearrange the whole unit, I understand you were satisfying our Lord's desires but it is also our task to ensure the our Lord's life is in order"
Hearing those words, a golden glow enveloped Hilda, all the marks on her body disappeared as a fresh new maid dress covered her body. A faint smell of flowers emanated from her as if she had just finished bathing.
She quickly stood up from the bed and after giving both James and Black a bow, she left the room and with her disappearance, the whole unit twisted and in a matter of seconds it returned to its original form.
James and Black were standing in a study, the coffee mug and pot disappeared from James' hands.
Instead of the neatly arranged desk, a cup of steaming hot coffee was already set.
"Buzzkill"
James muttered as he walked towards the desk, an azure light enveloped him and much like the maid Hilda, his disheveled appearance was fixed and now he looked as if he had perfectly cleaned himself up.
"You know, I wanted Hilda to keep her "marks" for bit longer"
He complained but Black did not seem to care for his words as he replied.
"Such an appearance would only stimulate your desire My Lord, better clean it up before you spend another 17 hours in revelry"
"I deserve some rest too you know!"
"Hundreds of homunculi have yet to get proper sleep ever since they were taken out of storage"
"..."
James sat on his desk, he quickly absorbed all the information from the gems. After a few minutes of contemplation he then asked Black.
"Who's this special mongrel that's worthy of disturbing my rest?"
His words were delivered in a way that was reminiscent of a certain crimson eyed blondie, even the pressure he exuded was reminiscent of it but Black was unperturbed as he responded.
"Susan Storm"
Hearing the all to familiar name, a smile formed on James' face as he then asked.
"What of her?"
"A few minutes ago, Satura has dealt with a rogue subject, bounded fields have been set up, it could even fool a top magus. Yet, the individual known as Susan Storm had "seen" Satura. Moreover, she had attempted to take a video of it, but maybe due to her panic, she was unable to realize that her phone had not reflected anything."
Hearing the explanation, James nodded his head, thinking slight he asked.
"Where is she now?"
"..."
Yet, Black did not answer, only staring at James with a look that said, "Excuse me?".
"Why do I need to waste my energy looking through the root if you can all give me the information? My abilities are not convenient CCTV cameras! It's for observing "unobservable" or "yet to occur" phenomena!"
"She is currently showing her brother the recording that had not recorded anything. The two are unable to make sense of it all and Red had just noticed the aura of fire and brimstone from Johnny Storm"
Black's response made James pause, he glared at his butler who smirked in amusement.
"I'll get you for this"
"I'll await your masterwork My Lord"
Black bowed elegantly, his mood obviously better as he vanished enveloped by shadows.